Job Opening – Intertribal Cultural Resource Specialist

The Intertribal Cultural Resource Specialist will serve as a liaison with the urban Native American Community in Portland to increase opportunities for Native people to experience the region’s natural areas to help preserve unique tribal culture and identity. Metro supports efforts to expand opportunities for all people to enjoy Metro’s parks and natural areas.

The objectives of this limited position are as follows:

To work with the urban Native American Community in Portland to identify, catalogue and assess cultural resources on a Metro managed property in a way that includes Native history and acknowledges contemporary use of natural areas

To connect Native people to Metro managed land and seek ways to increase culturally relevant accessibility for the urban Native American community

To restore cultural connections and promote traditional land management practices that promote spiritual, mental and physical wellness for urban Native people

To identify ways that Metro can increase Native American utilization of Metro parks and natural areas as places of stewardship and community learning

To provide an avenue where Metro staff and the public can learn from Native traditional practices of land management

BackgroundAmerican Indian Tribes in the United States have a unique government-to-government relationship with the federal government that is set forth in the US Constitution. Currently there are 566 federally recognized tribes in the United States. Indian termination and urban relocation was the policy of the United States federal government from 1940 into the 1960s. Oregon tribal governments were impacted by the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act, or Public Law 588, that was passed by congress in 1954. During this time many tribal governments were abolished and their members were relocated to urban areas. Tribes that were impacted quickly mobilized to regain their recognition, but tribal government restoration efforts were lengthy and arduous leading many tribal members to relocate in urban areas.

These unique factors have made Portland the 9th largest urban Indian population in the United States, with over 40,000 tribal members representing 380 tribes. Therefore, in the absence of tribal governments to advocate for them, Native people are seeking new ways to interact with local governments to see culturally significant policy objectives achieved.

With over 17,000 acres of regional parks and natural areas, Metro is seeking ways to expand opportunities for all people to enjoy Metro’s parks and natural areas. As a part of this effort, Metro facilitated a conversation with members from the Native American Community to better understand how to increase opportunities for Native people to experience the region’s natural areas to help preserve unique tribal culture and identity. Metro sought input from members of Portland’s Native American community to develop this limited one-year position to complete a scope of work desired by the Native community.